Poker Hand of the Week: 3/3/16You Decide What's The Best Play |
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Give us your opinion in the comments section below for your chance at winning a six-month Card Player magazine digital subscription.
Ask any group of poker players how you played your hand and they’ll come up with dozens of different opinions. That’s just the nature of the game.
Each week, Card Player will select a hand from the high-stakes, big buy-in poker world, break it down and show that there’s more than one way to get the job done.
The Scenario
There are 68 players remaining in a poker tournament, but only 63 will make the money. You have 170,500 in chips at blinds of 2,000-4,000 with a 500 ante, giving you 42 big blinds to work with.
A player who started the hand with 257,500 opens in early position to 8,000. It folds to you in the small blind and you see 9
8
. Sensing you can get away with some bullying near the money bubble, you decide to three-bet to 23,000.
The big blind folds, but unfortunately, the original raiser four-bets to 41,000. You go into the tank for a bit but ultimately decide the raise was too small to fold. You call, and silently rejoice as the flop comes down 10
9 9.
You check, and your opponent bets 29,500. You have a total of 129,000 remaining.
The Questions
Do you call or raise? If raising, how much? If calling, what is your plan for the turn? Does the flops draw-heavy texture mean you should play this hand fast? Does the approaching money bubble mean you should play this hand more cautiously? What’s the best way to get maximum value? What kinds of hands are in your opponent’s range?
What Actually Happened
At the 2016 L.A. Poker Classic main event, Binh Nguyen flopped trip nines on a board reading 1099 and checked. His opponent, Corey Hochman, bet 29,500.
After cutting out a call, Nguyen moved all in for 129,000 and Hochman instantly called with AA
. The turn and river fell JK and Nguyen doubled up.
Hochman was left short stacked but ultimately made it into the money before busting in 59th place for $18,240. Binh Nguyen went on to finish in eighth place, earning $127,660.
What would you have done and why? Let us know in the comments section below and try not to be results oriented. The best answer will receive a six-month Card Player magazine digital subscription.
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